this-girl-walks-into-a-midb-blog

[this-girl-walks-into-a-midb-blog]

2/14/15

Shabbat Shalom! Happy Valentine's Day! I slept in today!!!!!!!

At around 9:45ish I got up and grabbed some heart shaped cereal from the complex's mini kitchenette. That's how I remembered it was Valentine's Day. I don't understand the point of commercialising love and overpriced chocolate, but it's fun to make fun of it. 

I went back my room and had breakfast in bed. I deserve it. I'm my own valentine. No! My laptop is! I love my laptop!

Shall I compare thee to a laptop? Your bottom's pretty hot.

I edited a vlog and chilled out. I texted my mom for an hour. Then at around 11:20ish I dragged on clothes and headed to Beit Kenneset with Eliya and Maddy. We stopped to take a selfie with one of the resident horses. 

We snuck in the back of the chapel and watched the end of services. Then everyone stood up and said the Mourners Kaddish yet again. 

Everybody headed into the hall for Oneg. They served handmade lemonade and pretzels. We socialised with the other visitors on campus, who were Australians on their gap year.

Jake, Annabelle, and I sat outside and talked about the differences between the sections of Judaism. Annabelle is Conservadox, Jake is “All-Over-The-Place”, and I'm Reform. Jake pointed out that religion is basically a spectrum. He said that it's not just ultra-orthodox and secular Jews. I said that I think Reform Judaism is fun because A) It's being observant in a modern world 2) We incorporate music, technology, and Tikkun Olam into the religious world. It was a good conversation.

A lady in a green skirt told all the AMHSI Students to follow her. She led us to a gazebo and introduced herself as Leah. She explained what the kibbutz does, how it works, and how members join. Leah really emphasised the sense of a shared community and how everyone shares everything. Like, if you live on a kibbutz, your money is not your own. They share. Everything. I think it was socialism.

She proceeded to lead us on a tour of the entire kibbutz. 

It was a pleasantly warm day, and I didn't need the bright orange windbreaker I had brought with me. I ended up schlepping all three layers I was wearing, rolling up my pants, and deliberately only walking in the shade as the day grew hotter. Leah showed us the solar panel garden and the giant soccer field. It just kept getting hotter as the tour went on and on. Finally, just as I was about to collapse, the tour ended in the dining hall and we ate lunch. 

We had free time for three hours. I ran back to my room, changed into my pajamas, and brought a blanket and my laptop out into the grove. I finalised my latest vlog and tried to take a mini-nap. The sun was intent on making known its presence and shone extra brightly, therefore preventing me from any nap of any size. So I just cloud watched. It was a pretty relaxing free time. 

The madrichim directed us to a room next to the chapel. We sat through a program about how all the committees on Kibutzim work. The lady had a velcro board with plastic circles that she pointed to a lot. We were all very tired and it was hot and we did not fully appreciate all she had to share with us. This presentation made me feel so grateful for how wonderfully engaging our core teachers are. Then she split us up and we role-played the different committees. The group I was in needed to find financial help for musical child prodigy with an unapologetic father. We ended up taking money out of the girl’s college fund. 

The group circled up with everyone else for executive committee meeting. The other situations were about a kid having a Bar mitzvah with a non-Jewish mother, and a weird Soap Opera-like situation that broke up marriages on a kibbutz. For the first situation, some people argued that the boy shouldn’t be able to have a Bar Mitzvah because he wasn’t officially Jewish. I argued that if he was raised and identified as Jewish, was confident enough to stand up in front of his Kibbutz Community, and would get spiritual satisfaction from the ceremony, the kid should have the Bar Mitzvah! I got really into the debate and some people came up to me afterwords and said they agreed with me.

We stood in a circle and had a rushed Havdallah. Mordechai led us in a weird key and added a verse I didn't know. The candle fell over and I was giggling the entire time. Mordechai dipped his fingers into the wine and put the flame out with his fingers! Then he sent us back to our dorms to pack quickly. 

On the bus I tried FaceTiming with my NFTY friends at Convention. I was lucky enough to catch my friend Jacob as he was on a bus heading to an off-site program. He showed me the people around him and I got to say hi. I miss them so much!!!

We took a bathroom break at a really crowded gas station. Everyone's mothers sisters and daughters were in the bathroom with only four stalls available.

And then I tried to sleep on the bus ride home. The end.

[this-girl-walks-into-a-midb-blog]

In which the sand is mountainous and the cows are happy.

[this-girl-walks-into-a-midb-blog]

2/13/15

We got up with the sun rising over the desert mountain. After a delicious breakfast of cornflakes, chocolate spread on toast, and hot chocolate, we boarded the bus and headed to Moshav Idan. We hiked on a very narrow and rocky path. The view was wide and the sky was vey blue. We climbed up and down colorful rocks. Aubrey poured water on them and smeared it on our faces like war paint. “Becoming one with nature on a new level,” he said. We scaled rocks sideways and climbed down on metal grips built into the rock. We saw a dry riverbed and what could be a waterfall if it floods.  On the path we passed Norwegian backpackers loaded down with giant backpacks and cameras. We went up a narrow staircase made of flat, smooth rocks. It was like an intense bunkbed ladder. I had to lift my knee up to my shoulder for one of the steps. At the top was a flat cliff with a steep drop. We took pictures and felt on top of the world. Surrounding us were big mountains even though we were also on top of a mountain. I felt so small and insignificant relatively to the giant mountain. It made me feel humble yet like all my problems didn’t matter in comparison to how enormous the universe is. Aubrey told me to take my existential crisis and make sure that everything I do does matter in life. We hiked up a very steep hill and got to the top. My legs had been never been so grateful to see a bus. We drove to Eilat. I changed into my bathing suit in a portapotty. The instructor explained how the “shnorkeling” would work. We put on sunscreen, life jackets, goggles and snorkels. We crossed a boardwalk and down the stairs into the frigid, blue water.  I saw fish right below me. It was like going to an aquarium but being all wet and cold. It was really cool and the coral reef was colorful. I was having a great time and I was swimming and focusing on breathing through my mouth until a jellyfish spit on my arm! I was splashing around and my screaming was muffled by my snorkel and I was freaking out. I swam to the dock and limped coldly to the beach. The first aid dude put vinegar on it and told me it was no big deal. I bought a chocolate covered vanilla ice cream bar to soothe my wounds. I was a little ticked off that no one asked me if I was okay. We had lunch on the streets (LOTS) and I went with the two other Taliaot (the ones I wasn’t as close with) and Eliya to a funky sushi place called Manga. I ordered cucumber and avocado sushi and noodles. 

The others bought hamburgers at a place next door. The girls and I walked around in the mall. I patiently waited as they bought necklaces, earrings, and a bra. Yeah, a bra. One of the girls said they needed one. Satisfied with their purchases, we headed to a café and they bought iced coffee. I ordered tea from a very impatient barista. We brought our drinks next to the ocean and watched the view. I dipped my feet into the now warm water. The girls talked about college, life, and friends and I listened, rarely contributing. The conversation turned to body image. They each expressed their least favorite feature and it made me realise that I don’t really hate any part of my body. Like yes, I have bad hair days, and sometimes I break out… but other than that, I’m pretty confident in myself. It’s a good quality. (My social skills are something I’m not proud of, but that’s a different story.)

Talia and two other girls came back on the bus with extensions and cornrows respectively. It worked for them. I feel like if I braided my head all over that it would be fun for like a week, and then it would be painful. Back on campus, we rushed into the gym to light Shabbat candles before the sun set. Then we went back to our rooms to prepare for Shabbat. I took a long shower and let the steam unwrinkle my Shabbat clothes, a trick I learned from my mom. I wore khakis, converse, buttoned up shirt, and a tie. (I tied it myself! I’m so proud!)

We walked in the cold February night to the Beit Kenneset. I grabbed Reegan and we sat in the second row, to the left of the Bima. It was my first Conservative Shabbat. There was no cantor or songleader. There wasn’t even guitars or organs or instruments of any kind. From an outsider’s perspective, it looked very disorganized, but all the members seemed to know what they were doing. We said the Mourners Kaddish 4 times. I knew most of the words for the prayers but not the tunes, others I knew the tunes but the words were new to me. They made Shiru L'Adonai sound like a funeral march. It made me really confused because where I come from, Judaism is all about celebrating and being happy about life and stuff. Also it’s a lot more musical, but maybe that’s just the Reform Movement. A girl from our program, Lily, was asked to help lead evening Ma’ariv. She wants to be a rabbi, and I think she’s the most religious out of all of us. She did an amazing job. After services was awesome chicken dinner with soup and handmade challah. I drank a lot of wine grape juice. Immediately following dinner we crowded into the gym to play some group games. The first game was one where we played Rock Paper Scissors and the loser followed the winner around cheering them on. I came in third place. Then we played a weird molecule game where we “floated” around and Reut called out a number and we quickly had to get in a group of that number. It transitioned into a game where we were prompted questions and we talked among our group about who’s in our family and what we like doing after school. Then I was chosen as one of four people at the front of the room. The rest of the program sat in a circle in front of us. Reut quizzed us quickly on what everyone answered. Most of them we (the volunteers) made up and the group went along with it. It was really fun and I laughed so hard I peed my pants! It was the first time on this program I felt myself come out of my shell and show everyone how hilarious I am. Then we had free time before rooms-in, so Jake took a couple of us star tipping. Star tipping is like extreme star watching and cow tipping combined. You go to a dark area where you can see the stars clearly. Choose one star and focus on it as you spin around 20 times, and then someone shines a bright light in your face and you fall over! It’s really fun and funny! We all were really dizzy, so we headed back to the grove and hung out. I was part of a small cuddle puddle on the grass, and then we were all sent to bed. The other girls in my complex were sitting on the couch and I made tea. Maddy, one of my roommates back on campus, suggested we do warm and fuzzies. Warm and fuzzies are when you go around the circle and say nice things about other people. It sounds lame but it was actually pretty fun and sweet. It took a long time to get to everyone’s compliments because everything branched off into a story. We girls love to tell stories. It was 2 in the morning by the time I went to bed. I loved laughing and getting to know people better today. L'hitraot!

[this-girl-walks-into-a-midb-blog]

There are rocks. And sand. In Eilat. 

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2/12/15

We woke up at 5AM. *5AM*!!!! Literally all I did was drag my luggage onto the bus, drop into a seat, pull my blanket up, and crash. I had two seats to myself, so I stretched out and slept for a really long time. When I woke up, we were in the middle of the desert. Aubrey explained over the microphone that plans had changed because of the weather, and that we would keep driving for half an hour until we could stop somewhere to eat breakfast.

We stopped at a gas station and we went to the bathroom. I bought a chocolate milk and a towel. We ate breakfast on picnic tables as adorable stray dogs begged for scraps. These tiny fearless birds flew around our feet. It was the closest I’ve ever been to tiny birds, and was the best moment of my life. I want to rule an entire army of tiny birds.

Anyway, we got back on the bus and drove for a while. We apparently passed Aubrey’s house. All I saw were rocks and sand. And rocksand. Sand and rocks. That’s all a desert is.

We stopped at a pavilion in the middle of the desert. I was the only one that brought a map so I let Mordechai borrow it, which earned me a round of applause. I didn’t understand why, but okay. Then he was like, “Do you guys want to get craaaazzzyyyyyyyy???????” And we were all like, “Heck yeah!” And we ran down the dunes.

The dunes were giant and we zigzagged across them as if we were skateboards on a half pipe. We climbed up and slid down. I got a lot of awesome footage. The vastness of the desert was the perfect background for pictures.

I ran down into a valley. I actually enjoyed running in the sand, which is a first. I never run. Anyway, I was in between two tall dunes and I started to climb up and I lost my footing. I was hanging by one hand on a loose clump of sand. I figured that it was okay to fall since sand is soft, but I didn’t take into account how dusty it is. Talia was no help. She was laughing and filming me. I was laughing too. Other people on a dune behind me were cheering me on. Eventually Noah and Aubrey made a chain and helped pull me up. It was fun!

We ran around some more and took even more pictures, then went back to the bus. We played Heads Up, Jewish edition. Samantha bought the customizable pack and put Jewish phrases and things on each of the cards. We also sang songs passionately. I surprised the people around me with how well I knew Disney lyrics. I basically rapped Timon and Pumba’s dialogue in Hakuna Matata. Go me.

We stopped for lunch at יטבתה (Yotvata) The place was obsessed with cows. Cowches, cow hats, cow t-shirts, cow mugs, cow neck pillows, and of course, milk and other dairy products. I bought chocolate and vanilla ice cream. I know how American that sounds, but Israeli ice cream from Israeli cows is really so much better! I also ate a pickle and olive sandwich, since I couldn’t mix milk and meat. I love pickles and olives. We took even more pictures on the cows. We were acting very silly and I’m glad we bonded over plastic cow statues.

We drove again and stopped in the middle of the desert. (Surprise, surprise.) And then we walked. The path was wide enough for five people to walk side by side. We passed dead trees, rocks, and lots of sand. It was a fairly easy walk. We talked and told jokes.

And then the hike got harder because it got vertical. We had to climb up rocks carefully. When we got to the top of the first hill, we were greeted with an amazing view of the Red Sea. The blandness of the rocks made the blue of the ocean stand out even more. We took a couple pictures and climbed further. At the top of the next hill, Mordechai explained that we were on the very edge of Israel. He pointed to the mountains on our right. “That’s Egypt.”  He indicated the valley below us. “That’s Eilat.” Further to the right was Jordan. We spun in a circle pointing out the different states. It was pretty cool being on the farthest end of the country.

Then we crossed across a dune and sat in a circle on the next hill. Aubrey talked about how the root of the Hebrew word for desert, Midbar, was Daber, to talk. It was ironic because one of the quietest places on earth was the desert. He said that there was beauty in noise and beauty in silence. We then did an activity where we silently passed around strips of paper with quotes about silence and how important it is to hear the small voice inside of you.

Aubrey sent us off in separate directions to find our own quiet spaces. I sat at the top of a mountain away from everyone else and meditated for a bit. It was easy to clear my mind because of how vast and silent the desert was. The sun was white and the mountains were sandy and spread out. I sat cross-legged and closed my eyes.

“The sound of what cannot be seen sings within everything that can and there is nothing more to it than that.”—Nothing More by Dan Nichols

After about 5 minutes, Aubrey called us back into a circle and we listened to Simon and Garfunkel’s Sounds of Silence. It was a pretty powerful experience. And then we hiked on.

There’s a tradition that on the last section of the trail we were on, all hikers run. I didn’t run. I sprinted. The small group that was near me and I helped each other down rocks and kept running. I walked a bit to catch my breath until Aubrey speeded past. I ran alongside him until I realized my legs were longer than his. “Move, ya leprechaun!” I screamed. The people at the bottom cheered and I yelled and football-spiked my bucket hat. We gave each other sweaty high fives and encouraged and shouted to the people that decided to walk. I’m glad this program is composed of supportive people.

  The kibbutz we’re staying on is like a hotel! Our rooms have quilts and folded towels for the big shower in our room! My roommates are Aviv and Eliya. Dinner was awesome. I ate delicious barbecued chicken and pita with pickles and hummus. The weather was really cold.

There were barely any trees and the streetlights were dim so we could see the stars a little clearer. I ran to the gym while looking up so I could watch the sky and get to tonight’s activity quickly.

In the gym, the Madrichim explained the plan for tomorrow. (The weather is wonky so the plan kept changing.) We played a really fun speed-dating game, and I got to know other people better.

Before rooms in, we had a bit of free time. We played around in the grove between the dorms. People were doing back springs and handstands and hugging and giving piggyback rides. I drifted around between each clump of people until I realized…

I don’t have a person. Everyone here on this trip has a person or persons… But me? I’m a floater. A background character in a world of stars. An extra. Most of everyone is nice, and almost everyone has a best friend, more than best friend, or a squad of best friends. I haven’t found one yet.

Other than that today was really fun!

[this-girl-walks-into-a-midb-blog]

In which Channa spends her first Free Weekend with a camp friend and her Youth Group.

#amhsi #video #this-girl-walks-into-a-midbar

[this-girl-walks-into-a-midb-blog]

2/4/15

This morning my alarm blared loudly and I groggily got up to turn it off. And then I just stood there, half-asleep, and realized I had 20 minutes until breakfast. So I went with the obvious answer and went back to sleep. The hostel's beds are much comfier than the campus's beds. 

Anyway, once my alarm went off a second time I speed-packed and went downstairs for breakfast. Cocoa Puffs. Yum.

The Jerusalem air was cold but refreshing. The city was still waking up as we boarded the bus. We drove to Sataf on Mt. Eitan. We stretched and walked across stone steps. The hike was long enough to hear my friend Reegan's entire life story. We sat on a flat terrace we took notes and I spaced out and stared at the beautiful nature around us. My brain still wasn't awake. At least I had something to stare at instead of a classroom wall.

Abruptly, Aubrey said to grab our flashlights and cameras. We jumped up and followed him to a hollowed out rock and entered. The tunnel had low ceilings and narrow walls. All the tall people (not me) had a hard time with the space. Then we climbed up a small waterfall and shone our lights onto what Aubrey was trying to show us. It was a spring with the clearest water I've ever seen. He told us how springs are formed and how people used to use it, then invited us to drink it. IT WAS SO GOOD! It put all mineral water and tap water ever to shame.

Aubrey told us to turn off our lights and stand in a circle. We stood in silence listening to the water trickle. It was really dark. Then Aubrey taught us a weirdly Scottish-Israeli song about "returning to the land of your soul".

We exited the cave and into the bright sunlight. Aubrey made us scalding hot leaf tea as we talked about how the Torah's value system can be applied in our own lives. We also discussed the Book of Ruth. She was one tough cookie.

Then we jumped down the super-long staircase down the mountain and we drove to the Haas Promenade overlooking Jerusalem from the south.

Before leaving the area, we ate a very ​delicious Israeli lunch of bread, hummus, olives, and strawberries and chocolate spread.

After lunch we drove to the City of David and learned about King David on what probably was his palace basement. The view was beautiful and I'm so proud of the panorama I took:

Then we saw a 3D movie where the acting was cheesy and the 3Dness hurt my eyes. I don't think the 3D glasses were made to fit over my eye glasses. Some of my friends fell asleep. Oops.

Then we climbed downstairs into an actual​ cave and into water. (My water shoes were definitely a good investment.) The water came up to my thighs but then it receded to my shins. The cave walls were about as wide as me and the ceiling level changed throughout the walk. Sometimes it was super high, and in some parts even I, a short 5"2, had to duck. As you can imagine, some of the taller guys had a hard time with it. The cave was very dark and I was in the back of the line with Aubrey and some other students. We were guided by my very bright headlamp and the voices ahead of us. To ease the tension, we sang everything from the national anthem to songs about water. Then Aubrey told everybody to turn their lights off. It was very scary and the water was kind of cold. But we learned to trust each other and trust that the people in front of us wouldn't stop suddenly​.​ At the end of the tunnel, I felt so relieved and accomplished and immediately wanted to do it again. 

​The bus drove toward the Kotel and I did a magical speed-change into a skirt. The Kotel was a very emotional moment for me. The women's' side was very crowded and there were foldable chairs everywhere. When I got the chance, I put a prayer in the wall. The weather was cold, and the wall was even colder. I hope I can come back soon.

We got back on the warm bus and drove to Ben Yehuda St. for DOTS, dinner on the streets. Talia and I got shawarma and falafel respectively and then shared the most amazing giant waffle with chocolate on chocolate on chocolate with loads of whipped cream. IT WAS SO GOOD!

I fell asleep on the bus back. And that's it! L'hitraot!

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In which we hike Mount Gilbo’a, swim in the Sachne, and see Jerusalem for the first time.

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[this-girl-walks-into-a-midb-blog]

2/3/15

This morning I quickly finished packing, and only had about 4 spoonfuls of cereal before "No Fear" Ophir rushed me out the door and onto the bus. The bus drove for a slow hour. It stopped at the top of Mount Gilbo'a and dropped us off. Aubrey led us up onto a stone circle place thing, where we had a panoramic view of the mountain range and valley around us. He taught us about the judges that lived in the area and we took notes as gnats hit us in the face.

We crossed a busy street and took a group picture with the other core class. Then we began our descent down the mountain. It was a spacious view and solidified the idea that we were actually on top of Israel!

The hike was long enough to really get to know each other. We sang adventure theme songs like the ones from Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Pirates of the Caribbean. We joked about falling off the mountain and dying until someone actually fell. (They're alright, don't worry.) We played a lot of silly word games where we had to guess the movie using only the initials as clues. I filmed a lot. The mountain was so steep, and we jumped from giant rock to giant rock. I climbed down one-handed in order to not scratch my camera. (Talent!) I felt like a real explorer. Or a mountain goat.

We ran off the mountain and I felt really accomplished. We hiked an entire mountain!!! Others were exhausted and complaining. But not me. I didn't even get blisters until we were physically off the mountain.

Then we got on the bus and headed toward Sachne. Sachne is a natural spring that stays the same temperature all year round. It looked like a rich guy's pool. We changed into our "swimming costumes" as Aubrey calls them, and made sandwiches. Then we jumped right in. Literally. I took off my glasses, ignored the ladder, and cannonballed right into the clear, warm, deep water. There were steps in the water where people were sitting and fish were nibbling their toes. I kept freaking out because there were live fish eating the dead skin off our feet! IT FELT SO WEIRD!

Then we changed into "warm" clothes (mine were definitely not warm at all.) and got on the bus and headed toward Jerusalem. The Madrachim put a song over the bus's speaker system called Hineh Ani Bah and we all sang along. We took a quick "pee-pee break" (another Aubrey saying) at a gas station in the middle of a desert. I bought a Mars Bar because I've never had one before. It tastes just like a thick Milky Way bar. Then we got back on the bus and I filmed the desert sunset. When it was completely dark, the madrichim gave us blue pieces of cloth and told us to put it over our eyes. I joked to Talia that we were headed to Batman's secret Batcave. Blindfolded, we put our hands on each others' shoulders and trust-walked towards our doom. Just kidding.

I was shivering profusely. Aubrey gave us a little speech about how many people dreamed of seeing this sight we were about to see. He told us how magnificent the view would be, and then we took off our blindfolds, and it was. The city was lit-up and breath-taking. My heart actually skipped a beat.

Mordechai (the other core teacher) talked about how every Shabbat he would come on this mountain and watch the sunrise. Aubrey told a story about the writing of the song "Yerushalayim shel Zahav" (Jerusalem of Gold) and then we all sang it in Jerusalem. It was quite an awesome moment.

After getting assigned roommates and settling into the youth hostel, we had dinner and I showered. My roommates were Talia and Annabelle. I was responsible for the room key. Then we gathered to celebrate a Tu Bishvat seder with lots of delicious Israeli fruit and wine. Then we played games organized by the madrichim, where we made flower bookmarks, played charades with trail-mix, and rapped about almond trees. I had fun! Some girls sat out because they were apparently "above" interpretive dancing. I don't understand why they feel like they need to cut everyone down, separate themselves from the rest of the community, and be so negative. Plus they all gossip about each other behind each other’s backs. That's not being a good friend or a mensch. I really feel badly that they don’t seem to be enjoying themselves as much as I am.

ANYWAY there was a kids channel on the TV in our youth hostel bedroom (TV! In our bedroom!) and it was playing Lazy Town in Hebrew. I'm not going to deny the fact that I enjoyed it. Lily and Reegan visited our room and we sang ridiculous songs and laughed a lot. They know how to enjoy themselves. Also they liked my Elmo pajama pants. I'm so glad that they understand that being silly is an important part of life and that there is no reason to try to act older just to impress other people.  I am so happy to be me now, in this moment.  

We have a long day of more hiking tomorrow so I'm going to sleep! L'hitraot!

#amhsi #this-girl-walks-into-a-midbar

[this-girl-walks-into-a-midb-blog]

AMHSI Spring Semester's first Tiyyul together!

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1/28/15

Our first Tiyul! We were a little late, but we're new at this so who can blame us? When we got off the bus, we immediately had a Tiyul bomb drill. We had to run 10 feet, drop to the ground, and cover our heads with our hands. I dove into a bush. I attacked it, and it attacked back. I guess I got too into it, because I got scratches and cuts all over my arms. The first-aid guy had to remove all the thorns with tweezers and wipe up what little blood was there. It stung a lot.

 I hiked up the hill with my madrich Reut and saw my core class sitting on a hill. We then had class in the middle of Tel Gezer. We ate carrots (gezers) as Aubrey lectured about archeology and our notebooks flapped in the wind. He explained that Tels are unnatural mounds that were built on ancient settlements, which were built on ancient settlements before that. He illustrated his point by having someone pretend to be a hill and then stacking hats and dirt on her head. We hiked some more and saw caves, walls, and amphitheaters. We picked up broken pottery shards right off the ground. I found a rim and a bone. I'm so impressed with myself. I also filmed stuff for my vlog. I was afraid people would make fun of me for carrying my camera everywhere, but people came up to me and showed the camera the shards they found. I was relieved and grateful they wanted to be a part of what I was doing. We took some notes as we sat on a well, and Aubrey told us about the ancient traditions that could have happened at the High Place. I liked being able to use my imagination and envision the people that used to use the space. As a kinesthetic learner, it was awesome to go outside the classroom and do stuff and and be in the place where history actually happened. Then we hiked back to the bus and I realized how much I had to pee. L'hitraot!

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[this-girl-walks-into-a-midb-blog]

In which Channa flies to Israel for 12 hours straight and her adventure begins.

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[this-girl-walks-into-a-midb-blog]

1/27/15

This morning I woke up (Yes! I actually woke up!) and took an excruciatingly freezing shower. It was unnecessarily cold and I did not like it. Breakfast was pretty good. A lot better than I expected it to be. Israeli milk somehow tastes better than American milk. I guess it's because the cows are happier here.We had orientation of all our classes. This involved a lot of sitting and listening, and being handed papers. For whatever reason, Israeli binders only have two rings instead of three. This will probably make organization in my American binder difficult, but I think I'll manage. We then had our first Core Class. This class counts for a lot of credits back home so I have to get good grades. No pressure or anything.  Aubrey, my core teacher, is a short Scottish man with a lot of energy and is a little bit intense. But he's funny and passionate about Jewish history, so I think I'll like him. He dove straight into teaching and asked us what "Lech L'cha" meant. The desks are set up in a U shape, and Aubrey paced around in the middle lecturing. He lets us discuss his questions among ourselves and gives us the opportunity to teach each other. My classmates had a lot of interesting points.  After talking about Abraham and his monotheistic beliefs, he explained that we were also making a journey to the unknown land of Israel and that it was an important moment in history. He gave us a timeline of dates we have to memorize by the end of the semester. 

After playing another mixer with the class I'm starting to feel more comfortable with this community. I hope we can become a family.   After core class was lunch, which was spaghetti and meat sauce with beans. It was a strange combination of Italian, Mexican, and Israeli. I also had lemonade made with real lemons. It was all actually really delicious. 

After lunch and a chance to put our new textbooks away, we all took an official tour of our beautiful campus.  Then we walked straight out the gate and into the mall to buy stuff. It looked like a small version of Times Square or something. There were a lot of honking cars and small but open shops. We gathered at a smoothie shop and split into groups. The madrichim said to go with someone we barely knew. I ordered a pineapple, banana, and mint smoothie in Hebrew. Then I realized I didn't have any shekels in my wallet. Only American money. One of the girls on my group spotted me. I'll pay her back tomorrow. Then the three other girls on my group (whose names I actuaLLY DON'T KNOW OOPS) and I headed to the school supply store. I got binder dividers and a hole puncher. I tried paying for them with my debit card but it didn't work for whatever reason but the lady was nice and accepted an American $10 bill.

Then the girls got falafel and pita. I felt bad for not preparing with shekels so I didn't buy anything. The shop owner was nice and gave me a free sample of falafel. The girls said he's the nicest shop owner in the world and will definitely come back to his shop enough times for them to just say they want the usual and he'll know what they mean.  

 As they ate I observed the city from our seats. Hod HaSharon has a real sense of community. I saw a dude yelling from the front of his shop to a guy across the street in his car. They were having an actual conversation 30 feet apart. There were also some stray cats who were kind of scary.  I'm really bonding with this girl named Talia. There are actually 3 Talias (Taliaim? Taliaot?) on this trip and they all have curly Jewish hair which makes everything really confusing. But this particular Talia is awesome. We know a lot of the same weird songs and our classes are basically the same. I'm glad we're becoming good friends.  I'm also bonding with the rest of the group. We played cards before check-in time tonight and laughed a lot. I even put off my homework because of FOMO (fear of missing out). 

But now I'm going to bed! L'hitraot!

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1/26/15

Security was stressful. The security guards asked us a lot of questions like "Did you pack your own suitcase?" and "Why are you going to Israel?"

We had a lot of down time to get to know each other. I was quiet and very tired so I just observed everybody. I'll be more social tomorrow. The plane is two stories and very big. The seats have TVs on the back. Mine was fuzzy and glitchy, but I was sitting in a window seat, so I guess it was a fair trade. I'm sitting next to a girl on my program named Talia. She seems nice. The airline food was actually not that bad! I had hot pita and hummus, corn, chicken nuggets, mini latkes, apple juice, and cookies. I watched a movie called Hector and the Search for Happiness. It was a very appropriate movie for me because Hector took a journey all over the world to discover happiness within himself and others. Like me!

When the movie was over I looked behind me and there were religious men praying by an airplane window. I didn't realize the sun had come up. I really time traveled! I think we completely skipped Monday because my phone says it's Tuesday.

When the plane landed, everybody clapped. We then went to Passport Checkpoint where the guy in the booth took my passport and stared at me and my passport. It was a very tense 30 seconds. We got free carts and stacked our luggage. I felt like Harry Potter on his first day of school. My cart kept veering to the left, so one of the madrichim, Amir, helped me with my luggage. He said that he wants me to have an "authentic Israeli experience" so my name is now Channa. But with a phlegm. So *choking sound*-anna. We then rode on a very bumpy bus. I sat in the back with a guy named Cody who was on last semester and stayed. He said it was the best time of his life so he stayed. We had to drag our suitcases upstairs two stories. Uuuuuuuggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh My roommates seem nice. There's 5 of us in one room. I'm on a bottom bunk but nobody's above me, so there's room for all our extra junk. I'll update when I can! L'hitraot!

#amhsi #this-girl-walks-into-a-midbar

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We have a class in the bomb shelter? That's so Israeli!

Actual things heard on campus

#amhsi #this-girl-walks-into-a-midbar

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Updates might be late because of time difference!

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1/26/15 - Meeting my new family

There are so many people here and they're all introducing themselves to each other and I feel like the literal embodiment of this gif:

I'll make friends. I know I will.

#amhsi